A Stanford University study targeting cancer cells in laboratory mice has been generating buzz and hope.

A new experiment for cancer treatment had incredible results using immune-stimulators to target tumors in mice. Specifically activating T cells in tumors eliminated even distant metastases in mice, according to a study published this week by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Advertisement

The approach worked surprisingly well in laboratory mice with transplanted mouse lymphoma tumors in two sites on their bodies. Injecting one tumor site with the two agents caused the regression of both the treated tumor as well as the second untreated tumor.

In all, 87 of 90 mice were cured of the cancer. Although the cancer recurred in three of the mice, the tumors again regressed after a second treatment, according to the peer-reviewed research.

Mice genetically engineered to develop breast cancers in all 10 of their mammary pads also responded to the treatment. Treating the first tumor that arose often prevented the occurrence of future tumors and increased the animals' life span, researchers found.

The approach works for many different types of cancers, including those that arise spontaneously, the study found.

The researchers said they believe the local application of very small amounts of vaccine could serve as a rapid and relatively inexpensive cancer therapy that is unlikely to cause the adverse side effects often seen with common treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.

"When we use these two agents together, we see the elimination of tumors all over the body," Professor of oncology Ronald Levy told Stanford. "This approach bypasses the need to identify tumor-specific immune targets and doesn't require wholesale activation of the immune system or customization of a patient's immune cells."

One of the agents is already approved for use in humans while the other has been tested for human use in several unrelated clinical trials, according to Stanford School of Medicine. A clinical trial was launched in January to test the effect of the treatment in patients with lymphoma.